


Answer

by teddyaltmeme



Category: Men’s Hockey RPF
Genre: 5+1 Things, Experimentation, Highschool AU, Kissing, M/M, sooooooo I have no reasoning behind this, summers a bummer my dudes but so is breaking your arm
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-24
Updated: 2019-03-24
Packaged: 2019-12-06 20:36:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 2,403
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18225116
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/teddyaltmeme/pseuds/teddyaltmeme
Summary: 5 times it wasn’t a thing + 1 time it was.Kissing your captain is a bad idea but so is kissing your rookie.





	1. Wasted

**Author's Note:**

> this is a bit of a train wreck?? but when is my writing not? 
> 
> each part is like vaguely inspired by a song so there’s that ! but mostly it’s just me being sad abt these boys, idk why I like this ship so much it’s so dumb
> 
> it me @crocby on tumblr come cry w me abt them pls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> party bets? party bets.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wasted - tiesto

The first time it happens they’re both a little wasted; Chris just enough so to feel a little braver- but Brady, well Brady must feel invincible, because he’s dragging Chris into some room at a house party.  
It’s not something he’d do sober, Chris knows this, but Brady is a funny drunk- even more reckless, impulsive, easily persuaded than usual- still Chris wouldn’t have assumed he would do this drunk either.  
Though, to be fair, he still isn’t entirely sure what _this_ is. It had started with Brady appearing out of the crowd and ended with Brady pushing him up against the sink in a little suburban bathroom. 

‘Kiss me,’ He whispers- breath ghosting the shell of Chris’ ear; his hands fisting in fabric of Chris’ t-shirt. ‘Please?’ 

The way he pulls his bottom lip between his teeth is honestly painful; he looks beautiful, he always does, but there’s something about this version of him that makes Chris’ chest feel tight. He’s just a little ruined, his shirt is rumpled and the sleeves pushed up to his elbows, his hair is in a state he’d probably cry over if he were sober, and there’s this fire in his eyes- the kind that says ‘if you get too close you’ll regret it’.

‘C’mon, big boy, what’re you waiting for?’ And all of Chris’ resolve is out the window. He threads one hand through Brady’s hair- god, it’s softer than he’d expected- and uses the other to hold him by the jaw; pull him closer till their lips meet. It’s slow at first, barely kissing, just feeling each other out- but Brady melts against him, pushing for something more, something closer. It doesn’t last long. Brady pulls away, braces himself against Chris’ chest, still close enough that they’re sharing breath; 

‘I win,’ he smirks, it’s a good look on him. 

‘Win what, idiot?’ It leaves Chris’ mouth with a half laugh, maybe Brady is drunker than he thought. 

‘Kevin bet me ten dollars I couldn’t get you to kiss me, but I did,’ He doesn’t make a move to leave, just smiles a little wider. 

‘Yeah, you win,’ Chris thinks he should be mad. He isn’t.


	2. No Better

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> we love truth or dare based smooches

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> no better - lorde

It doesn’t happen again until they’re well into the dog days of summer; all seven of them gathered in Chris’ backyard pool. Any real forms of pool entertainment- chicken fights, cannonballs, handstands- had been exhausted hours ago, the early afternoon heat soon sucking the fun out of movement. Now, however, they’ve split; Brady is at one end playing a mostly truth based game of truth-or-dare with Jimmy, Kevin, Lias, and Buch- Chris at the other, engaged in some sort of conversation with Mika.

‘Brady,’ Jimmy says, flicking the water with his fingers, ‘Truth or Dare?’

The heat has a way of muddling his thoughts and something must slip out before he can even really consider, because the next thing he hears is;

‘Kiss whoever you think is hottest,’ which is swiftly followed by ‘And don’t argue it,’

He can feel his shoulders tense.  
The dare itself isn’t that bad- they’re just goofing around- what scares him is how quickly he has his answer.  
It’s Chris.  
It’s not exactly surprising; girls (and sometimes other guys) practically line up to get a shot at Chris- even if they’re intimidated by him. He’s attractive in a kind of roguish way and it seems to be enough to make up for any character flaws. Brady has always known this, but it hasn’t ever really struck him just how attractive he is- objectively, of course.

He’s sitting on the ledge at the opposite end of the pool, staring into space and letting Mika ramble on at him from the water; there’s a little break in his tan where is swimming trunks have slipped down his waist and the high points of his face and his shoulders have taken on this pinkish glow that Brady knows is a predecessor of sunburn. His hair is stuck to his head with sweat and chlorine, there’s remnants of pool water trickling down his body.

‘How’s things, Skjeisy?’ Chris smiles and cocks his head when he notices him approaching, his deep brown eyes catching the light;

‘I have a surprise for you, stupid, so close your eyes,’ He refuses to let the nerves rising in his throat get to his voice, and Chris, ever trusting, obliges.  
He doesn’t really want to do it, he’s scared he’ll like it, but he’s never been one to chicken out so he leans one arm on the ledge, pushes himself up and reaches his free arm around Chris’ neck to pull him closer. It only lasts a second before Chris, startled by this turn of events, loses his balance and falls into the pool taking Brady under with him, but something about that second feels a little too familiar, like something he’d dreamt and forgotten.


	3. Oh Klahoma

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> injuries r stressful lads

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh klahoma - jack stauber

The third time it happens is, unsurprisingly, at another party. It’s different this time because Brady broke his arm a couple days prior and he’s been in this weird mood since. Chris gets it, IR sucks, especially for Brady. He’s never been able to sit still for longer than a minute- Gravy had claimed it’s because he’s an Aries, but Chris and Jimmy are in agreement that’s it’s probably just an attention disorder. Regardless of what it is or isn’t, it’s clearly taking a toll on Brady. He just looks so down and Chris desperately wants to do something to fix it but he doesn’t know what.  
He’s talking to Kevin in the corner, Chris doesn’t know what about but judging by their expressions Kevin is probably being overdramatic again.  
So, when Kevin eventually fucks off, Chris goes over to him.

‘Hey,’ he says, leaning up against the wall beside Brady. It’s not that Brady actually looks sad, really, he’s smiling but there’s something in his big brown eyes, ‘you okay?’

‘Yeah, just...’ Brady turns to him, searching for a word. Chris is pretty sure he’s had a few beers, not enough to be drunk just a little foggy, ‘-bored, I guess?’

‘You look like somethings in your mind,’ it’s more an idle observation than anything, he doesn’t actually expect Brady to tell him anything.

‘I- just,’ Brady starts, his brows furrow and his face falls into this sort of irritated yet confused look, ‘do you ever think about how any injury could be your last- like, what if my arm doesn’t heal right and I never get to play again? What if next time I hit my head, it’s too hard?’

He tilts his head to look at Chris, it’s sort of unsettling how open his expression is. He’s never seen Brady quite so plainly. He doesn’t know what to answer that with, of course it’s passed through his mind once or twice, if it’s an especially bad injury- but it pretty much leaves as soon as the doctor tells him it’ll be fine. He wants to kiss Brady until the thought leaves his head too. So he does. It’s a really stupid idea, but Chris has had a few more than Brady so it seems like a good idea. It’s not a particularly good kiss, or a long one, but it’s something. Brady’s lips are so soft- they always are.

When Chris pulls away, Brady’s blushing _hard_. He looks so good, Chris wants to kiss him again, but he doesn’t- once was already too much.

‘You still thinking about it?’ Is all Chris can think to say, he thinks it’s best to just brush it off as a distraction.

‘No- yeah- I, uh,’ Brady fumbles, eyes anywhere but Chris’ face, ‘I have to go speak to Jimmy,’


	4. Somebody Else

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> sleepovers r not real life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> somebody else - the front bottoms

Chris knows what Brady’s going through right now- well he doesn’t actually _know_ , but he knows. It’s not something he ever really experienced since he just kind of always knew he liked boys to some extent, but he knows enough to know that Brady’s going through some kind of crisis- either gay or bi. Chris isn’t any more sure than Brady. It’s probably not that obvious to anyone else, in fact it’s only really obvious to Chris because they’ve kissed like three times now, because there’s always this sort of searching in the way Brady looks at him, like Chris has answers. He doesn’t.

It’s about a week later the fourth time, at around one am. A couple of the guys are staying over at Jimmy’s for the night; horror movie marathon. Brady’s been sitting ridiculously close to him all night, huddled up at his side. At first Chris chalks it up to him being scared. Brady doesn’t really seem like a scary movie kinda guy and Chris figures he’s probably only here because Jimmy asked him to be. But then Jimmy and Kevin leave to go get more popcorn (Chris has a sneaking suspicion that they’re doing something else) and Mika has long since passed out on the couch, so they’re pretty much alone. Brady rearranges himself so he’s sitting cross legged looking at Chris.

‘Kiss me,’ Brady says in an odd imitation of the first time this happened, less confident though- less sure of the outcome, ‘please?’ 

He even does that thing with his lip again; worrying the bottom one between his teeth. Nervous this time, not flirty. In fact this whole moment is just a mirror of the original; play by play the same but contextually so different. Brady is still rumpled but this time it’s because he’s tired not because he’s drunk, this time he looks beautiful in a completely different way. Heartbreakingly soft- Chris feels the sudden urge to hurt him, he thinks it’s called cute aggression. 

Brady won’t meet his gaze, his eyes turned towards the doorway; he’s either planning an escape or fearing Jimmy and Kevin’s return, Chris can’t tell which. He looks scared. Chris reaches a hand out to cup Brady’s cheek, to tilt his head back towards him.

‘Ok,’ he whispers, pressing his lips to Brady’s. It’s nothing special, really, it’s just gentle and slow.

It happens again around four am when everyone else has fallen asleep. Brady doesn’t ask this time.


	5. Do Me a Favour

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> awkward car convos r peak writing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> do me a favour - arctic monkeys

It’s just an experiment- kissing Chris- it’s just to see if he really does like boys or if it’s just some passing infatuation with Chris specifically; some sort of hero worship amplified by stupid teenage hormones.   
Brady’s just curious right? There’s nothing wrong with it. Chris doesn’t seem to mind it, regardless, in fact the third time was all on him. The problem is he doesn’t think he can talk to anyone about it- he thought about telling Gracia, the absolute angel she is, but he knows she worries. He’d tell Jimmy and Kevin, given their not so secret secret thing they’d probably have good advice, but he doubts they’d actually give him anything besides a ribbing. So, it’s a secret, kind of.

The sixth kiss comes several weeks later; several weeks of silent suffering and persistent cold shoulders. They’re sitting in Chris’ car outside Brady’s house, the heaters up high but Brady still feels cold. 

‘Do us both a favour,’ Chris snaps, it’s not exactly angry it’s just frustrated and abrupt, ‘and tell me what the hell is going on with you,’ 

‘Nothing,’ Brady lies, trying to keep his tone flat, staring out the window to the front door; he could make a break for it.

‘We both know that’s not true,’ 

‘I-‘ Brady feels sort of sick, sort of static-y. There’s this wave of shame that sticks to his skin like sweat and his face feels hot and his eyes feel kind of stingy like he might cry. He’d really hoped he could avoid this conversation- push this whole thing far away- because he doesn’t know what’s going on with him, not really. ‘I’m sorry,’

‘It’s fine,’ Chris sighs, hands loosen their grip on the steering wheel, ‘just please stop ignoring me?’ 

‘It’s just,’ Brady starts, unsure what he actually wants to say- it doesn’t matter though because Chris leans in and kisses him. It’s a chaste thing but it makes Brady ache. 

‘I know,’ he smiles- a soft, sad thing, ‘you should go in your parents’ll be worried,’

‘Yeah,’ Brady says, fumbling with the seatbelt and then the door handle, ‘thanks,’


	6. Slow Dancing in the Dark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> PROM NIGHT BITCHES

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> slow dancing in dark - joji

It’s prom night and Chris is going stag- sort of. Technically he’s here with Mika, who had insisted the Chris take him because he wanted to make Mats jealous, which is dumb because Mats is already clearly head over heels for Mika.  
So it’s a date, but it’s not a _date_.  
It’s not exactly a surprise when Brady walks in with a girl on his arm- Gracia, he thinks- because Chris already knew he had a girlfriend, but it annoys him a little nonetheless. He’s more annoyed at himself than them though; he’s annoyed that he thinks he has any right to be annoyed- the thing with Brady isn’t a thing, it’s a mistake in six parts. 

The surprise comes when Brady walks up to him, a look on his face like he just killed Chris’ dog or something. He looks handsome, otherwise. He cleans up nice, which is saying something considering what his usual level of niceness is.

‘I just wanted to say- I’m, uh, sorry for being weird for like the past few months I just- I’ve been trying to figure stuff out and I-‘ It’s a clumsy apology, sure, but it’s kinda cute how nervous he is. Chris was never really mad to begin with just a little frustrated. 

‘It’s fine,’ He placates Brady, lips pulled into a smile he hopes is reassuring, ‘still friends, yeah?’ 

‘No-‘ Brady starts; backtracks and corrects himself, ‘I mean yeah, but...’

‘But?’ 

‘I think I like you,’ Even in the dim gym hall, under the soft pink lights he can tell Brady’s blushing, ‘like, like like you,’ 

‘You have a girlfriend,’ Is Chris’ first thought; the one that escapes before he can stop it. The confession soothes something in him though- like relaxing a muscle he didn’t know was tensed.

‘What- Gracia?’ Brady’s face goes from worried to confused to nervous in about one second flat, ‘No, well yeah, but not anymore, not for a while,’

So yeah, the seventh time it happens is prom night; in the middle of the dance floor. It’s not their first kiss, no, but it’s means something different now.


End file.
